2.11 Is it true that Isaac Asimov had a fear of flying?
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This article is from the Isaac Asimov FAQ, by Edward J. Seiler ejseiler@earthlink.net and John H. Jenkins jenkins@mac.com with numerous contributions by others.
2.11 Is it true that Isaac Asimov had a fear of flying?
Yes, the same author who described spaceflights to other worlds and who
argued valiantly for the cause of rationality suffered from an irrational
fear of heights and flying. This had the consequence of limiting the
range over which he travelled throughout much of his life.
Asimov discovered that he was acrophobic at the New York World's Fair in
1940, when he took his date and first love Irene on a roller coaster,
expecting that it would cause her to cling to him in fear and give him a
chance to kiss her. Instead it was he who was terrified while his date
remained perfectly calm. Two years later, his wife-to-be Gertrude
convinced him to ride on a roller coaster at Coney Island, and he was once
again terrified.
Asimov did in fact fly on an airplane twice in his life. The first time
he did so while working at the Naval Air Experimental Station in
Philadelphia during World War II. While working on dye markers that made
ditched pilots more visible to rescue searchers, he developed a test to
compare dye visibility that did not require a plane flight, but in order
to validate his test he volunteered to fly in a small plane to observe the
markers. He was so absorbed in his observations that he didn't suffer
from any undue fear. His second plane flight took place on his return
from his army station in Hawaii, in which he flew aboard a DC-3 to San
Francisco.
After his military service in Hawaii in 1946, Asimov never ventured so far
from home, and did not often travel great distances. When he did need to
travel significant distances, he usually took a train, or rode in someone
else's car, until he learned to drive in 1950. Oddly enough, he found
that he felt quite comfortable behind the wheel of an automobile. In the
1970s he and Janet travelled by train to Florida and California, and they
took several several sea cruises to such places as the Caribbean, West
Africa, England, and France.
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